Blog #11

Over spring break I got a general idea and design of my civil structure. This weekend I plan to wrap up my final products and start preparing for the upcoming presentation. I obviously need to work on my presenting skills because I am a really shy person. I believe that if I am prepared and confident, I can step up and present loudly and clearly to the class.

http://www.skipprichard.com/confidence-more-compelling-than-competence/

This image is to represent an ideal mood when presenting. For me, it might be difficult, but I need to start trying to improve my public speaking skills. I am really grateful that I attend schools with teachers that constantly push students. If my teachers had not constantly showed me videos of people speaking out, then I would not have realized how important it is to have good public speaking skills. What motivates me the most is when young kids, close to my age or younger, speak out in public. Public speaking gives you a voice and that voice will carry you a long way in life.

Blog #10

Lately, I have been trying to find new projects to do. Last Friday, I went to an engineering presentation here at school, provided by the MESA program. Unfortunately, majority of the college students were still taking their general education and could not provide much information on engineering. I did learn about college, programs, and applying.  Last weekend, I attempted to do the water clock project, but did not make precise measurements and cut the hole too big on the container. The water dripped out too quickly and resulted in inaccurate time measurements. Over spring break, I plan to redo my water clock, finish my civil structure models, and maybe even do a catapult. From there, I will look at my research and try to think of ideas for projects I can do.

This image reflects on my spring break. I will be filled up with the 20% project, a history project, badminton, and most likely, helping others. I need to stay working so I do not become lazy. At the moment, I always feel lazy and I need to get out of this bad habit and personality.
http://www.theemotionmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/busy.jpg

Blog #9

Recently, I have been thinking that I should make a Ping-Pong ball catapult. This project is complicated and any minor error I make will alter the whole catapult's appearance and ability to perform properly. Making even the slightest of changes or mistakes can make it fling the Ping-Pong ball a shorter distance as well as a different angle, as opposed to flinging it straight. I have gathered my materials for the water clock and civil structures. This weekend, if possible, I will finish these and try to post some pictures on my next weekly blog. Furthermore, tomorrow, I will be attending this engineering presentation provided by the MESA program. Students from San Jose State University will be giving the presentation. I will take some pictures and also upload them to my blog. The presentation excites me not only because it is about engineering, but also they might provide me with information that I do not have and may give me more ideas for more final products.

http://imgarcade.com/1/super-excited-smiley-face/

This excited face represents all the upcoming projects I will be doing. I do not see this project as an obligation, but a sort of hobby and something fun to do when I have free time. Also, there is an engineering presentation tomorrow that I will be looking forward to after school.

Blog #8

Lately, I have been thinking about making model bridges like the civil engineers. I am still trying to figure out what materials to use. Like the project for MESA, I could use a balsawood-like material if I can. If I am unable to get my hands on these materials then I think I will just use popsicle sticks as a substitute. I will try to do the water clock this weekend if I have time during the day. Last weekend, we had a family get together  throughout the day. I want to try to do these projects during the day so I can show the progress and final products of these projects in pictures with good lighting. I was informed by my mother that this past week, my uncle, who was supposedly my mentor, went to work at 9 a.m. and got home at 9 p.m. I never realized that an engineer needed to work that long for a whole week, especially being his own boss.

http://churchjobs.tv/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/overwhelmed.jpg

This image could describe me as I am spilling out my emotions to my friends or to myself. I do not want to make excuses, but about three hours of my day gone because of a sport is sort of taking a swing at me. I feel overwhelmed with work and badminton, trying to fight off any desires of sleeping. As my grades fall, my self-esteem diminishes and I feel somewhat careless. Not sure what kind of psychological or growing phase I am going through, but I feel overwhelmed.

Blog #7

Nothing new has actually happened with this 20% project this past week. I have been exhausted by AP World History homework and studies as well as badminton late in the evening. I have thought about a possible water clock to make though. I plan to make a water clock to measure a short amount of time like less then five hours. I cannot say that I am happy with the lack of progress, but I cannot exactly tell myself that I am failing considering the amount of reading and work I have been doing. Earlier this week, something interesting was that even though we were required to study three essay prompts for World History and be prepared to write an essay for any of the three, he played with our minds and gave us all the same prompts.

http://www.aspirekc.com/images/c8dfc0522e1d_B2F9/exhausted.jpg
This is me every night after eating dinner. I am not used to playing a sport and being outside of house this late. Badminton relieves stress within me, especially the stress and tension between my parents and I. Unfortunately, badminton makes me so tired I come home and eat dinner and sleep. Not sure if it is majorly affecting my school work, but I feel like I have fallen behind in the 20% project compared to others.

Blog #6

Lately, I have finished all of the research I plan to do. To compliment the final products though, I will do more research. Unfortunately, I did not start any of the final  products yet. Lately, I have just felt tired and found myself coming home and sleeping right away. I feel like I could of gotten more done, but lately I just found myself needing more sleep. Something interesting I did this past week was that barely any AP World History homework was given and I used this opportunity to increase my average hours of sleep per day by about three.

http://blog-proxy-endpoint.polleverywhere.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/lazy-cat5.jpg

This image can relate to my progress on the 20% project recently. I have been lazy not doing the project. My sluggish behavior will have me cramming the project and have a possible effect later on like what that bottle of beer might do for the cat. I also feel tired and sleepy every time I sit on the couch, which is really preventing me from doing my homework lately.

Project Update

I researched different types of engineering and plan to make projects covering the concepts used in those types of engineering. 

I will be nervous tomorrow, especially since I am speaking to many people I normally do not hang out with. While I respect my classmates, I do not view them as close friends, with only seeing them for about an hour a day. This makes me feel unwelcome, while expecting and fearing judgement. Additionally, I am still unsure of exactly what my final product is going to be, while only sure of what categories the projects will fall under. I feel that going first will alleviate the stress, but it also takes a lot of courage to volunteer first. Also, being among my fellow genius classmates, it is safe to predict that there will be confident volunteers. I believe that I will have nearly no confidence and that I will struggle trying to remember what I want to say. Public speaking is not one of my strong suits. Here are the main websites that I found my information and research from:

http://constructionmanagementdegree.org/blog/2010/100-awesome-engineering-projects-for-kids/

http://www.aboriginalaccess.ca/

http://engineeringfields.net/